Variation in Dialect Proficiency and Restructuring
Abstract
This paper investigates the linguistic consequences of the post-World War II relocation of low-German speaking Pomeranians in the west. These speakers have been under the influence of three language norms; those of standard German, of Pomeranian low-German, and of Schleswig-Holstein low-German for 25 years. The study shows that the Pomeranian dialect has not been retained to the same extent by all speakers, and moreover, that the variable proficiency does not correlate with age, even though it is often assumed that older speakers necessarily speak a ‘purer’ dialect, but rather it correlates with social factors and structural factors of the dialect. As regards the structural factors, it is shown that reinforcement, i.e. the agreement of the Pomeranian dialect form with that of standard German or Holstein low-German, is significant. Eleven phonological traits of the Pomeranian dialect are studied in the speech of twelve migrated speakers.
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© 1975 S. Karger AG, Basel
